Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant-53
Hard to say time wise. To get an estimate try finding a shop rate manual for Geo Metro or Subaru engine and transmission rebuild. Any project I have worked on seems to require 210% the effort one would imagine going in.
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People told me that it took a week or two to replace a Subaru headgasket yourself, while the shop manual rates 8-10 hours (and the dealership estimated $3,500).
I had the Haynes manual and watched the video that everyone told me to around twenty times. I went through everything that I found on-line and wrote out step-by-step directions, so I would not be rifling through the manual looking for this section or that chapter.
It took me months, because many steps lacked details. The video mechanic put a breaker bar on the crankshaft, hit it with a sledge hammer, and it came off. That must have had a manual transmission, which you can leave in fifth gear, but most Subarus are automatics, and those require different techniques, which were not even mentioned in the video.
Plus, I found several plastic pieces that had broken, which they did not have in stock, so I ordered them, and waited.
I guess that the effort factor depends on expertise. I kind of want to replace another Subaru head gasket so that I can see how much faster I can do it.